Fraxus Day 2017
by Eryis
Summary: My submissions for Fraxus Day 2017, with multiple one shots. Some of these will be requests and drabbles from tumblr, others will be my own ideas. I hope you enjoy them and thank you for reading .
1. Introduction

**Hi all.**

 **With Fraxus day coming up soon, on November the fifth, I was thinking that I could write a couple of one shots from your requests. If you do have a request, please keep it to the rules set by the event organisers FuckYeahFraxus': No triggering topics like rape, respect other ships and SFW.**

 **If you have an idea, pop it down in the review section. I'll try and write everybody's request, but if there's too many I'll use a first come first served thing.**

 **Thanks, eryis.**


	2. An Evening With Makarov

**This was requested by tumblr user furidojasutin, who wanted Laxus and Freed announcing their relationship to Makarov. It turned out a little less funny than I imagined, but i think it turned out well all together and I hope everybody enjoys it.**

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 **Fraxus Day - An Evening With Makarov**

"I'm guessing it's too late to call this off, right?"

Although it was spoken with mirth and humour, there was sincerity in Laxus' question. After three months of dating, he and Freed had decided it was time to tell Makarov of their relationship. They thought the best way to do this was to invite him to share a meal with the Raijinshuu and tell him part way through the evening. The old man would be arriving at Laxus' house in minutes and a sense of nervousness and anticipation was growing in the dragon-slayer's stomach.

Looking over his shoulder from the soup he was gently stirring, Freed smiled softly at Laxus. Both men had been anxious when they thought about the evening but Freed knew it was harder for Laxus, who was coming out to the only living member of his family that he cared for. It was an important day for the slayer and the nervousness was obviously affecting him.

"You know he'll accept us, Laxus," Freed spoke gently, looking the other man directly in the eye. "It wouldn't shock me if he says he's known about our relationship from the start and simply didn't want to mention it until we did."

He rested the wooden spoon inside the saucepan, allowing the soup to simmer for a few moments. He walked to the taller man and carefully placed a hand on his cheek, directing his gaze downwards and bringing Laxus' face closer to him. After a short, chaste kiss, Freed moved his hand onto Laxus' bicep in a comforting manner.

"He has accepted people with open arms for doing things infinitely worse than being in a relationship with a man, his ethics will not change tonight."

"I know," Laxus sighed. "But I keep thinking that it'll different 'cause I'm his grandkid. I know it's stupid but-"

"Damn baby, your nuts are in such a big knot if you untied 'em you'd be able to jump rope." Bickslow cackled, walking into the kitchen and placing an empty beer mug in the sink. "The biggest worry gramps is ever gonna have with what you do with your dick is if you get some girl pregnant with it. That ain't gonna happen with Freed, so stop worrying about it."

As quick as he had come, Bickslow left the room and walked back to the living room to relax with Evergreen. Both men watched him leave with a slight amount of confusion, before Freed slowly turned back to Laxus and smiled. Laxus nodded in acceptance and placed their foreheads together. He kissed his forehead, a silent show of appreciation.

Happy with the reaction, Freed turned and walked back to the soup he was cooking. Often, their relationship didn't consist of many words. Both men preferred to show emotions through subtlety and small actions rather than shouting it from the rooftops. For them, the small actions were just as important as a conversation.

Now calmed by what Freed and Bickslow had said, Laxus decided to leave the heat of the kitchen and walked into the dining room. He had set the table with his more expensive crockery and cutlery, everyone was dressed in smart-casual clothing and Freed was cooking a fancy, three course meal. It might have been seen as too much effort for one night, giving that the evening was for Makarov Dreyar of all people, but they wanted him to be in the best possible mindset before they told him; despite probably not needing to do so.

"What time is it, Ever?" Laxus asked, straightening out a fork that was askew on the table.

"A few minutes past seven." She said, looking up at the clock on one of Laxus' shelves. "You feeling okay now? Earlier, you looked like you did when you saw Bickslow naked for the first time."

"Ha. You totally did." Bickslow grinned, then immediately frowned. "Hey, now you're gay or bi or whatever, should I be offended by that? I'm prime material and you looked like a kid who just found out what meat is!"

"You'd be even more offended if you knew what I was thinking after I saw that." Laxus smirked slightly, feeling more relaxed. "And yeah, feeling better now. Apparently, all I needed was for Bickslow to talk about Gramps being worried about my dick and the nervousness just goes away."

After getting a mock salute from Bickslow, Laxus stood back from the dining room table and leant on the wall that partitioned the dining room from the living room. He looked at the entertainment lacrima, mindlessly watching the show that Evergreen had chosen to watch. It wasn't his type of programme, but he had nothing else to do as Freed was more than in control of the kitchen and Laxus would probably only get in the way if he tried to help.

As the smell of food began to waft throughout the house, Laxus heard the front door open. His nervousness began to rise again, knowing that only his grandfather would walk into his house without knocking tonight. The slayer took a short breath before walking into the hallway, seeing his grandfather extend his arms to hang his coat on the hook.

"There you are, Brat," Was the guild-master's greeting. "Smells delicious in here, so you're not cooking then. You promised me home cooked food. Getting Freed to cook doesn't count."

"If you want, I'll make you a sandwich while we eat Freed's stuff." Laxus joked when he walked into the living room.

"You wish. Evening you two," He nodded to Bickslow and Evergreen, looking towards the kitchen. "Good evening, Freed."

After being greeted by the rest of the Raijinshuu, Makarov handed a bottle of white wine to Laxus. It was rude not to offer the host a gift at a dinner party, even if he was your grandson. And the wine _might_ have been a gift he received last year and only drunk once before realising it tasted disgusting, so pawning it off to Laxus was a 'two birds and one stone' situation. He would have been a fool not to take it!

It wasn't long before Freed called everyone to the table, presenting them all with a bowl of steaming tomato soup with freshly baked bread, a starter fitting for the November chill. Laxus sat at the head of the table, Freed to his left and Makarov to his right. Bickslow sat beside Freed and Evergreen beside Makarov. The entertainment lacrima had been turned onto a music only setting, smooth jazz flowing throughout the room in a low volume.

As the group ate, Makarov led the conversation; with the Raijinshuu's tendency to take long term missions and not spend all their free time at the guild, he had a near infinite number of stories to tell them. At that moment, he was telling them of Team Natsu's most recent job gone wrong which ended up with Natsu being punished by working as a cleaner on a private train that gave tourists a ride around the mountains. The guild master seemingly took great joy in emphasising just how bumpy and rickety the train ride was and how sick Natsu would be feeling while completing his punishment.

Laxus was thankful that this was the story his grandfather had chosen to tell. Now Makarov was here, Laxus felt his nervousness come back in full force. With the story focusing on motion sickness, which Laxus also suffered from, he could pretend his lack of talking and reactions were in sympathy for Natsu. It was a believable enough lie if he needed to tell it.

"But that's not even the best part," Makarov laughed, slightly tipsy from the wine he'd drunk. "I've organised another mission for Happy, so when Natsu finishes his time on the train, he has to take another train home! "

The guild master cackled loudly again, slurping up the last spoonful of soup and pushing the empty bowl forward. The Raijinshuu and Laxus finished their food soon after Makarov, placing their empty bowls forwards in the same way the guild master had. Bickslow had joined in with Makarovs raucous laughter while Freed and Evergreen chuckled quietly. Laxus gave a single, fake laugh before looking at the table nervously, an action that didn't go unnoticed by Freed or Makarov.

Before Makarov started to ask questions, Freed stood from the table and began to collect the bowls. As he walked past Laxus, he placed a hand on the larger man's shoulder for a second to comfort him. He smiled when Laxus sent him a thankful glance, before walking to the kitchen door. He stopped before he left the room.

"I assume everybody is ready for their main course now?" Freed offered, everyone else nodding.

"That was delicious, Freed," Makarov smiled. "You and Mirajane would make a fantastic combination in the kitchen."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," Freed smiled, before looking towards Laxus. "Laxus, would you mind helping me with plating up the food, please."

Laxus nodded and stood up, removing the cloth napkin from his lap. He walked around the table, not noticing Makarov's eyes follow him until he left the room and walked into the kitchen. The moment the door closed, Laxus' shoulders untensed and he leant on the kitchen counters with a sigh. He knew he was acting strangely and that his grandfather had probably noticed, but it wasn't something he could help.

Freed kept an eye on Laxus as he took the bowls to the sink and placed them in the warm, soapy water. Deciding that washing the dishes could wait, he walked to Laxus and placed his hands on the other man's waist; Laxus wrapped his arms around Freed's waist and pulled him closer in return.

"Thanks for getting me out of there." Laxus mumbled, placing his nose in his boyfriend's apple scented hair.

"Its fine," Freed smiled, rubbing his right hand up and down Laxus' left arm. "You know we don't have to do this now, if you don't want to. If you're not ready to come out, there's absolutely no rush."

"No, I wanna do it. Just don't know how to do it, y'know." Laxus sighed.

Laxus loosened his arms and let Freed walk to the oven, taking out the large slab of beef that he was cooking. He wordlessly picked out five plates from the cupboards and placed them on the counter when Freed started to retrieve the other parts of the main meal. Seeing that he had done everything he could until Freed needed to ring the plates out, Laxus leant on the wall out of his way.

"I understand it's more difficult than you expect." Freed hummed as he pulled out a magical knife for the large amount of beef he had to cut.

"It doesn't help that you're the first person I've properly been with," Laxus groaned. "I can't be like 'remember when I was dating this girl, I'm doin' that with Freed now.' And I don't even know how he'll react with me dating a girl, let alone a guy."

Freed smiled thankfully when Laxus handed him a plate, sliding a thick slice of the meat onto it before moving to cut the next one. When Freed had came out to the Raijinshuu, he had similar apprehensions. It had shocked him how hard it was to actually say the words 'I'm Gay' to people he cared about. Of course, his worrying was misplaced and his team had accepted his sexuality without batting an eyelid, but Laxus hadn't been soothed by the knowledge Makarov would probably do the same.

After placing a reasonable amount of meat on each plate, Freed turned back around to look at Laxus. He walked to the blonde man again and grabbed his hands, holding them tightly and looking at his boyfriend softly, but with seriousness.

"Today is not the day you come out to your grandfather. Not anymore. Today isn't a big, life changing day. Today is the day you tell your grandfather you've been dating someone for a few months and care for them greatly," Freed's voice was stern, but not harsh. "Today isn't the day you look back on. Today is the day that allows you to feel a little bit more comfortable being intimate with me in public. That's all it is."

Taking another long breath, Laxus nodded. He doubted he could simply turn his apprehensions off, but he knew that trying to think like that would sooth him somewhat. After clearing his head for a few seconds, Laxus closed the gap between them both. He slowly removed his hands from Freed's grasp before cupping his cheeks with one hand. He leant forward and brought their lips together, kissing his boyfriend.

Freed returned the kiss slowly, placing his hand on the back of Laxus' neck. The kiss was sweet and filled with care. After a few moments, they pulled apart and rested their foreheads together. When Laxus opened his eyes again he saw something out of the corner of his eye. His stomach flipped in nervousness.

Standing in the doorframe with the plate that held the bread in his hands, Makarov was grinning from ear to ear. When Laxus and Freed turned to look at their guild master fully, they noticed just how wide the smaller man was grinning; it looked almost painful. The three men stood in silence for a few seconds, Freed glancing at Laxus to gage his reaction to Makarov seeing them kiss. The dragon slayer didn't seem to know what to think. Eventually, Makarov broke the silence.

"Do the two of you have something to tell me?" His grin was audible.

"Well, heh, we've been, erm," Laxus was red with embarrassment, avoiding his grandfather's eyes. "Kinda been dating for a couple months."

The grin grew larger, if possible. The guild master laughed loudly and walked towards them both, expanding his arms so he could hug them both. Freed and Laxus, both blushing at being caught, were too shocked by the gesture to return it. That only brought more laughing out of the smallest man's mouth, who pulled away and grinned up at the two of them. Before either could say anything, Makarov's hand slapped both men upside the head.

"Keep anything this big from me for two months again and I'll put you on the train with Natsu and have you clean up his vomit." He cackled, before turning to Freed. "And you, why the hell did you settle for the brat? You're literally voted as one of the most wanted men in the country every year."

"I hardly see Laxus as someone I've settled for." Freed replied with a blush, not expecting the praise.

"Good answer. Nobody settles for a Dreyar, you're lucky to have him." Makarov said proudly.

The nervousness Laxus felt immediately was replaced with annoyance. Honestly, his grandfather seemed to be moments away from giving Freed the 'you hurt him and I hurt you' speech. Although, despite his annoyance at his behaviour, Laxus felt himself immediately comforted with how Makarov really didn't seem to care he was dating a man.

"And you, Brat," Makarov turned back to Laxus. "You're lucky to get a member of Fairy Tail to date you; a sane one, no less. How you managed to do that I don't know, but you better not ruin this for yourself."

"I, erm, I don't plan on ruining it." Laxus stammered slightly, electing a small chuckle from Freed.

"You better not. Now, let's have something nice to drink instead of that crap I brought you." Makarov grinned, walking towards Laxus' drinks cabinet. He grinned when he picked out an expensive looking bottle of champagne and placing it on the counter.

As Makarov did this, Laxus looked at Freed with an overwhelmed expression. Literal seconds ago, Freed was convincing him that he would be accepted by his grandfather and that he needed to just tell him and get it over with. Now, somehow, his grandfather was stealing some of his most expensive alcohol so he could celebrate his relationship. It was a lot to take in over a few moments and both men were taken by surprise to say the least.

Even though he was excited with the acceptance Makarov was showing for them, Laxus was still apprehensive. He couldn't shake the feeling that his grandfather wasn't thinking this through, or that he was forcing himself to be happy about the situation without taking a moment to realise what it actually meant.

"Gramps, you really okay with this?" Laxus asked hesitantly. "And don't just say it 'cause you think it's the right thing to do, I'll know if you do."

As his grandson's words, Makarov removed his hand from the cutlery draw where he was searching for a bottle opener and looked at the blonde. The amusement was gone from his face and he was looking at his grandson seriously.

"As long as the two of you are in a happy and stable relationship that won't distract you from guild work and put you in danger, I am more than happy with you. Who you date is none of my business, unless I think that person is dangerous or will end up with you getting hurt. If you date a man or a woman, it's not important. Just be happy and I will be, too." Makarov finished, not breaking eye contact with Laxus.

"You're saying that now, but what if that changes? Like, we won't have a kid. Even if we want to have one, it probably won't be mine. You really okay with me being the last Dreyar, ending the family name?"

With an audible sigh, Makarov pulled out a stool from the breakfast bar in the kitchen. He hopped up onto it and motioned for Freed and Laxus to take two of the other stools. Both men did so, looking at their guild master with slight anxiousness.

As they moved, Freed looked at Laxus with curiosity. The blonde had never mentioned having any apprehensive feelings about having children, nor had he mentioned any sense of duty or worry to carry on the Dreyar family name. Obviously, this wasn't the first time he had thought about this or he wouldn't have mentioned it. Freed felt bad for not thinking about this so he could help Laxus, having no intention of having children himself meant he simply hadn't thought about it.

"Laxus, I don't see that as important at all. A name is literally just a name, it doesn't mean anything really," Makarov spoke with seriousness. "And even if it wasn't and carrying on a name was a big, important thing, every family has a stopping point. Look at who our name could have stopped with. A drunk who runs a successful guild but can hardly keep it going and will forgive anyone almost immediately, even though he probably shouldn't. Or your father, a morally corrupt man who's done very little right with his life."

"Don't compare yourself to Ivan." Laxus spoke forcefully, Makarov ignoring him.

"And then there's you. A young man who can learn from his mistakes, take on any crap that life seems to love throwing at you and has some of the strongest, most thoughtful morals I've seen. You've got all the good traits that come with being a Dreyar and, day by day, you get rid of the shit we hand down. It's people like your father who should carry on a family name, because they need to give it to someone who deserved it. If our name ends with you, you're a damn good final product."

Laxus exhaled at that. The Dreyar's didn't often get serious about their feelings for each other, tending to show affection in teasing or simply assuming that the other knew how much they cared. The blonde felt himself taken aback by the praise and was comforted by them, smiling at Freed when he realised that the other man was stroking his hand.

"But, if you do have kids in some way, I think you'd get it right." Makarov grinned. "With you two being parents, the Dreyar name can only improve. Now, if you'll excuse me, I want to drink something that doesn't make me wanna vomit more than Natsu on the mountain train."

With a loud laugh, Makarov left the room with the champagne in his hand. The couple watched as the guild master went on his way, slowly turning towards each other on the stools. They looked at each other for a few moments, analysing what exactly had just happened. Makarov had unequivocally supported their relationship, said that he didn't mind if Laxus didn't have children, showed just how proud he was of Laxus as a grandchild and then said he thought the two would be good dads if they decided they wanted a child.

Freed broke the silence with a shocked laugh, Laxus joining in with a smile. To think he had been so worried about Makarov not accepting their relationship. In retrospect, he should have known Makarov wouldn't really care.

"Now, I'm not sure yet, but I think that he might have accepted us." Freed joked, Laxus laughing slightly. He pulled his boyfriend closer and shared a longing, thoughtful kiss with him. It lasted a little while longer than the other kiss, but ended in exactly the same way with their foreheads resting against each other, some slow panting and love in their eyes.

"Hey Laxus," Bickslow's singsong voice came from the dining room, disrupting the moment that was about to form. "Didn't know you were such a cute kid. You gotta get in here, Freed. It's hilarious." His dolls chanted 'Cute Cute' and 'Funny Funny.'

Laxus thought for a moment about what Bickslow could be talking about. His eyes widened when he realised that a couple of months ago, Makarov had brought over a box of stuff from his childhood that he had yet to unpack. It was highly likely that an album of childhood photographs had been involved in that package, which Makarov would obviously want to embarrass him with.

Freed, too, realised this. With a grin, Freed stood up. Laxus shook his head, silently asking his boyfriend not to do it, knowing it was worthless. When Freed walked through the threshold, he cast a weak enchantment for the dining room. It activated the moment Laxus walked into the room.

 _'For the next hour, nobody can leave the perimeter of this enchantment unless allowed by Makarov Dreyar.'_

After reading the ruled of the rune, Laxus glared at his boyfriend and trudged over to the chair. He contemplated snatching the album out of his grandfather's hands, but didn't see the point of ruining everybody's fun just so he didn't get embarrassed. That, and there wasn't anywhere to run in the small room he was trapped in. He sat in the chair and crossed his arms, refusing to look at the pictures of him as a child. Makarov laughed at that, patting his shoulder.

"Don't worry too much, brat," He grinned. "Freed practically grew up in Fairy Tail. You think I don't have any embarrassing stories about him, too?"

Freed's eyes widened slightly and he immediately realised his mistake in giving Makarov all the power in the enchantment he had written. He leant back in his chair in a similar way that Laxus had, glancing at the other man with a slightly apologetic smile. Laxus grinned at him weakly.

"You regret telling him yet?" Laxus chuckled.

"Slightly," Freed also chuckled. "But I think this is a small price to pay, honestly. We can get over it, I'm sure."

Under the table, Laxus placed his hand on Freed's thigh. It was small and went unnoticed by everyone in the room, but the fact Laxus felt comfortable enough to make that gesture with Makarov in the room meant a lot to Freed.

"So, here's a story I like to call: Freed and the stink bomb spell."

At Freed's exclamation of 'Oh Damn It' the room erupted with laughter.


	3. The Newest Member

**This was requested by Archive user 'Mew',who wanted Laxus and Freed having a baby boy. I hope this is cute, it was fun to write and I like to think that it's good and hopefully you do too. Happy reading ^.^**

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 **Fraxus Day – The Newest Member**

Upon entering the guildhall of Fairy Tail, there's an unwritten rule that you should expect the unexpected. With constant fighting, explosive personalities and a number of apocalyptic scenarios centring around the guild, anything could be hiding behind the large wooden doors. Every Fairy Tail member had one story to tell where they walked into the hall and had to stop at the threshold in shock at what they saw.

For Freed and Laxus, they stopped at the sight of Mirajane and Makarov leaning over the crib of an unknown baby.

When the couple returned home from their mission, the sky was black, air crisp and the streets quiet. As neither were tired enough to retire to bed, they had decided to spend some time at the guildhall and enjoy the rare quietness of the early mornings. They knew Makarov or Mirajane would be there, the guild never truly closed down in case anyone wanted to post a mission. But what they didn't expect to see was both wizards looking over a wooden, rocking crib with a small baby sleeping inside of it, which of course led to them stopping where they stood in shock.

Mirajane noticed them, she motioned for them to be quiet and for them to come over. They both did, ignoring the glare from Makarov when one of them stood on a particularly squeaky floorboard. When they finally reached the anomaly in the room, they looked down to see the child sleeping.

It was tiny, dressed in pale blue pyjamas and bundled up in thick, fluffy looking blankets. A little, woollen hat was wrapped around it's slightly disproportionate head, lips slightly parted as its chest rose and fell. They both immediately identified the baby as a little boy and incredibly young, practically new-born by the look of it.

"Who's is this?" Freed asked softly, watching the child with curiosity as he grabbed the blankets with his small hands.

"We don't know," Mirajane whispered. "I found him by the back entrance a few minutes ago."

Laxus nodded and watched as Makarov gently rocked the crib, the child seemingly happy with the treatment, a small noise slipping through his lips as he grasped the blanket further. The dragon slayer also clocked the small smile on his grandfather's face; the old man really did have a soft spot for little kids. And damn that kid was little.

It wasn't unknown for Fairy Tail to take in children, in fact it was relatively common. However, someone leaving a new-born baby on the doorstep was practically unheard of. Usually, a guild member would find a child that they knew was vulnerable and not safe in their situation and bring it back to Fairy Tail with them, always a final resort. A new born child being in the guildhall was unheard of; apart from when Asuka was born, of course. Makarov didn't seem too worried about it, so he probably wasn't new to it.

"So, what do we do now?" Laxus grumbled.

"I've contacted the rune army, they deal with these things," Makarov said, smiling down at the child. "They'll come, see if they can identify the young fellow and find the parents. If they can find the parents, they'll see what they want to do. Most parents change their minds, realise they acted rashly and take their kid back. It'll probably be the same tonight."

"What happens to him until they find his parents?" Freed questioned.

"Unless you want him left alone in the barracks with soldiers, we look after him," Makarov gently adjusted the blankets that had fallen down slightly. "So, I guess we'll just have to look after him for a little while. I can stay with him tonight, I would have been here anyway."

Laxus frowned a little, pulling out a chair at the table the child's crib was on. He sat down, Freed doing the same. Both men continued to look at the baby with curiosity, who seemed to be happy with the conversation happening around him as he was still sleeping soundly in his cocoon of blankets.

Despite that, the idea that he would be sleeping in the guildhall didn't sit well with the couple. They were sure that, under Makarov's care, the child would be fine. But the hall was cold, empty and would be filled with loudmouthed wizards asking questions very early in the morning; practically the worse environment for a young child.

"You really gonna keep him in here all night? What if you fall asleep or somethin'?" Laxus questioned, tentatively pushing the ricking crib with his finger; it swayed gently.

"Can't do much else. Most of you brats don't have a clue how to look after a kid," Makarov sighed a little. "Alzack and Bisca have enough on their plate, Macao is on a mission with Wakaba and who knows where Gildarts is."

"I did offer to look after him," Mirajane whispered. "But the landlady of the dorm halls wouldn't allow anything that might cry."

Freed nodded, having had one interaction with the infamous landlady; he didn't intend to have another any time soon. When the boy shifted slightly in place, Freed reached over and carefully adjusted the hat that had fallen off slightly. He was careful when retracting his hand, not wanting to accidentally hit the crib and disturb the sleeping child.

When a buzz came from the guild's kitchen, all four wizards jumped slightly. With a hand on her chest at the shock, Mirajane laughed slightly and walked towards the bar. She had found some baby-bottles in the guild storage and was heating up milk for the little boy.

She retreated to the kitchen, leaving the men together. Makarov continued to gently sway the crib, making sure not to act too roughly as to wake the child. Freed and Laxus were still looking at the baby, not entirely sure what they were meant to be doing. They had intended to drink until they were tired enough to go home, not look after an abandoned baby. But both men would have felt awful if they left, so decided that they would remain there, at least until the rune-army representatives arrived.

"Did he come with a name, like on a note or something?" Laxus questioned.

"No, not unless he ate the note," Makarov chuckled slightly. "We should probably think of something to call him, we can't keep refereeing him as 'him.'"

"We could call him Dren?" Freed suggested, the other men looking at him. "It's a nice enough name, we'd all remember it I think."

Makarov smiled and nodded, slightly proud that Freed remembered that particular name. Dren was the main character in a reasonably popular children's book. It was also the book that Makarov had read to Laxus, Freed and many of the other members of the guild when they were young. The character was a young wizard who was just starting to get his powers and managed to defeat a monster with the help of his guild. It had good morals and Makarov enjoyed reading this book while his younger guildmembers tried to sleep. It was nice to know that Freed had liked that time enough to remember it also.

"Dren it is then." Makarov smiled, removing his hand from the crib and letting the newly named child sleep peacefully.

The three men sat in silence for a few minutes, Mirajane returning with a bottle of warmed milk. As Dren was still sleeping, she set it beside the crib, the bottle had a lacrima that would regulate the heat so she didn't have to worry about it. She pulled up a chair and sat at the table, smiling down at the boy.

As they waited for the rune-army representatives to arrive, Freed quietly debriefed Makarov on what happened on their mission so he wouldn't have to do it in the morning. Mission debriefing was guild policy, mainly so Makarov could find out what damage his wizards had done and how sorry he needed to be; Freed made an effort to do it immediately so Makarov wouldn't have to chase him around like he did with many of the members. The mission hadn't been at all violent and was easy for both men, so it was appropriate to say in front of the young boy.

"Fairy Tail? We've got a call about an abandoned baby!"

At the exclamation from the door, Makarov tensed. The representative standing in the threshold had shouted, despite being in the same room and knowing that there was a baby. The guild master looked down into the crib, grimacing slightly when he saw Dren's mouth open and he unclenched his eyes. The small boy was wailing within seconds, grasping up at nothing.

As Makarov glared at the soldier and began to walk over to him, Mirajane scooped up the child and began to gently rock him in his arms. She made some cooing sounds, not doing much to stop the crying. When he noticed Laxus grimace at the sound, Freed nudged him with his foot but smiled sympathetically. He knew it must be hard on his sensitive ears, but he probably shouldn't show how much he didn't like it.

Makarov and the soldier began to walk across the guildhall, the soldier now talking in the same hushed whispers as everybody else. As they got closer, Freed and Laxus managed to hear part of the conversation over the sound of Dren's crying.

"We should talk in my office," Makarov spoke firmly in his whispers. "You can see him after he's calmed down."

"Of course," The solider nodded, apparently not feeling guilty about waking the young boy.

The two had retreated into Makarov's office a moment later, probably glad to be out of the loud crying. Mirajane was now stroking Dren's head in an effort to sooth the boy back into sleeping. It seemed to be working, he was still crying but not nearly as loudly as before.

Mirajane lowered him into the crib again, removing the hat and stroking his head; he had a good head of hair for his age. She began to sway the crib again, small cries still coming from the baby's mouth. A moment later, just as Mirajane was picking up the heated bottle of milk, Makarov stuck his head over the balcony and called her up.

"You two'll be okay with him, won't you?" She asked, slightly tentatively.

"Course we will," Laxus grumbled, slightly offended by the idea he and Freed couldn't handle a child for such a short amount of time. "What d'you think I'll do, try and pick it up and get confused and fry its brain or something."

"We'll be fine, Mirajane." Freed smiled, picking the bottle of milk up stepping towards the crib.

Appeased, Mirajane gave Dren a final stroke of the head before rushing up the staircase and towards the office. Freed chuckled when he looked back to Laxus and saw him looking indignantly at the woman, apparently his pride still hurting at the idea that he wasn't competent enough to look after a child. The rune mage patted his knee before looking over the crib, moving the bottle of milk.

Just before he could bring the bottle to Dren's lips, Laxus grabbed his hand. When he looked at the older man, Laxus chuckled slightly. "Y'might wanna tilt his head up before you feed him."

"Oh, of course." Freed nodded, adjusting the blankets to make a temporary pillow. He then carefully moved Dren upwards so he was sitting, gently placing the bottle against his lips. The boy was drinking the warm milk a second later. Keeping the bottle steady, he looked over his shoulder towards Laxus. "How did you know to do that?"

"You ever try to eat lying down? Ain't easy," Laxus chuckled slightly. "And, y'know, babies are sensitive and shit."

"Yes, I suppose they are. And you're also not supposed to cuss in front of them."

When Laxus chuckled again, but didn't start cussing further to annoy Freed, the rune mage smiled. Given the lack of young people in Fairy Tail, Freed often forgot that Laxus was quite good at dealing with kids. He would never admit it, of course, but the evidence was there to be seen.

Laxus watched with a tiny grin as the baby greedily drank down the milk, the lack of crying a relief on his sensitive ears. The baby was pretty cute too, its tiny hands were grabbing at the top of the bottle as if he wanted to hold it himself. It was even cuter when his left hand fell from the bottle and grasped at the feathery blanket again. His eyes were even closed as he gulped down the warmed milk.

"How old d'you think he is?" Laxus asked absentmindedly, Freed removing the bottle and tucking the blanket up again

"I can't say, but certainly young. Perhaps under a week old, definitely not a month old yet." Freed murmured.

"Why d'you think someone would just leave a kid at some random guild? Like, seems kinda-" Laxus sighed slightly. "Just doesn't make sense to me."

"It can be a number of reasons, I suppose," Freed's voice was slightly downcast. "Perhaps the parents had their child too young and didn't want it weighing them down, or reflecting badly on them. Perhaps they're not at a place where they can support another life and want to assure their child will live comfortably and without issues of money. Or perhaps, they have the ability to look at their child and simply not care about them."

As Freed began to fiddle with the blanket in the crib, Laxus looked at him with a soft expression. Freed had been in a somewhat similar situation to Dren, being put into the care of Fairy Tail. Of course, the key difference was that Freed was older than Dren and understood enough about the world to realise what was happening. This also meant that he understood the implications of the situation and was old enough to feel bad about it. At least with Dren, if he remained at Fairy Tail, he would know no different.

"Whatever the reason, the parent made the right decision. If they realise their mistake and want him back, they know they love and need him. If they gave him up as the can't afford him, at least they're being responsible and doing what they think is best." Freed leant back on his chair slightly, satisfied with his blanket work. "And if they don't care or are thinking of themselves over their child, they don't deserve the privilege."

Laxus shifted his chair and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, pressing his lips into Freed's hair in a hug. Freed relaxed slightly in his grasp, not realising he had tensed so much.

"Sorry for bringing it up." He murmured into Freed's ears.

"You needn't be," Freed smiled slightly. "As I said, the parents who do this always are making the right decision in some capacity."

"Guess they are." Laxus nodded.

Both men pulled apart when Dren began to cry again, the couple glancing at each other with worry. Despite them both being competent enough to look after a baby, they weren't able to immediately know why the baby was crying suddenly. He probably wasn't hungry; unless he suddenly changed his bedding standards, he wasn't uncomfortable; and both men really hoped that he hadn't just pooped. Thankfully, Laxus couldn't smell anything like that.

Deciding to do what Mirajane had, Freed carefully scooped the young boy up and began to carefully bob him up and down. Dren continued to cry, although Freed managed to get to find a rhythm of rocking that seemed to sooth whatever was bothering him.

When the crying finally ended, Laxus chuckled and looked at the boy's face again. His large, green eyes were scanning Laxus with such innocence and curiosity that it was completely endearing. The dragon slayer grinned at him, gently patting him on the head. Freed gave a soft glare, half expecting Dren to start crying again, but he didn't.

"You're a loud little fella, ain't ya." He chuckled. "With that scream, you're gonna be a damn monster when you grow up. If you stay, you'll fit right in with Fairy Tail."

Freed chuckled slightly, not sure if Laxus knew if he was talking in a slightly softer, higher pitched voice than he normally would. The rune mage's eyes softened when Dren reached out and managed to grab Laxus' little finger, in a similar way he had done to the blanket earlier. He was still looking at Laxus with big eyes, a small giggle spilling out of his lips.

"He's pretty cute, aint he." Laxus grinned slightly.

"So was Natsu, at one point." Freed joked. "Now look what he's become."

"You think that's what he'd doing with my finger. Askin' me to fight or something." Laxus' grin widened. "Or maybe this is his way of taking me down. Feels as strong as Natsu when he tries to fight me."

Freed chuckled again, smiling when Dren let go of Laxus' finger. He looked around mindlessly, eventually settling his gaze on the crib. Seeing this as a request to return to the comfort of his blanket heaven, Freed carefully placed him down again and began to rock the wooden bed in an attempt to sooth him back to sleep.

"Hey kid, I want you to listen to me." Laxus said with a grin, Dren looking up at him. "Natsu Dragneel is not a good role model. Repeat: he is not a good role model. He'll make you think he is by saving everyone's lives once a month, but that's just so he has an excuse to be annoying all the time. If you want a role model, look for your uncle Freed. He's a real role model and not that loudmouthed moron."

"Are you really trying to turn a one-week old baby against Natsu?" Freed chuckled.

"It'll happen eventually." Laxus grinned. "If we get him started now, when he's older he won't have to learn the hard way."

"He's not that bad." Freed smiled, laughing softly when Laxus gave him a disbelieving look.

"He'll fight anything that moves. I think I saw him trying to fight a tree one time,"

As the couple began to debate whether or not Natsu had the potential to be a good role model, with Dren looking at them both and occasionally giggling for no apparent reason, they were both unaware that, leaning over the balcony, was Mirajane and Makarov. They had been standing there for over five minutes and had been watching the display with fondness and muted surprise, neither expecting that the two men would be all that good with the new-born.

Now finished with his work, the rune-army representative left the office and walked over to Makarov. He waited for the shorter man to turn around, which he eventually did. "If we can't locate the biological family, or they refuse to take the child back, do you have anyone you believe that will be a fitting parent or family for the young man? Or will we need to involve official adoption agencies?"

With a smile, Makarov looked over his shoulder and down to the lower floor of the guild again. He smiled.

"No, that won't be necessary. I think we've got just the pair."


	4. The Start of an Eternity

**This was requested by Tumblr user alex-is-wily, who wanted something cute, fluffy and related to a wedding. Here you go, i hope you enjoy it and you think it's cute. Also, this is unofficially a sequel to my Fraxus proposal fanfic 'The Longest Walk' and makes subtle references to it. You can read this without knowing anything about it, but it might be nice to read if you want. Happy reading either way ^.^**

* * *

 **The Start of an Eternity**

"Please, remain silent for the reunion of the grooms."

A hush fell across the crowd, all of which were standing in front of white wooden chairs on a peaceful, incredibly beautiful clifftop. They were all looking towards a twisting, old oak tree and a small, wooden platform that had been set up before it. The crowd was a mix of every available Fairy Tail mage, a select few Blue Pegasus mages and a small number of people with no magic affiliation whatsoever.

Slowly, Freed and Laxus began to walk towards the platform from either side of the standing crowd. All eyes were on them as they walked, both men paying more attention to their soon to be husband than anyone else. They had decided to follow an old tradition in which the couple would be separated for a week prior to their wedding ceremony, only seeing each other as they walked towards their officiator. It was used to show the love of their couple, that if they were meant to be then they would miss each other. It had worked, the two couldn't contain their smiles as they saw one another dressed in their wedding suits for the first time.

Freed wore a maroon red tuxedo with a black cravat, with a cyan blue flower resting in the breast pocket. His hair was tied up in a bun, though flowed down slightly and gave him an elegant, regal appearance. Laxus wore a black tuxedo, completed with a black bow-tie and a greenish blue flower in his breast pocket. His hair was slicked back and smoothed out, showing a smart and sophisticated side of the dragon slayer that people didn't often see.

They both climbed the small staircases onto the platform at the same time. They walked to the centre of the platform where a small stone podium with a large red gemstone stood. To their left stood Bickslow and Makarov, to their right was Evergreen. They tore their eyes away from each other and looked towards their officiator, who was smiling gently.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of Freed Justine and Laxus Dreyar," She spoke loudly, but her voice was calm and soft.

As the officiator began her speech about the commitment they were making, both men began to look at each other and smile. It had been over a year since gotten engaged, but it seemed as though they had been waiting for this moment for decades. Now, it had finally arrived, and neither could be happier. They had no doubts, no insecurities, no nervousness. They knew that they were making the right decision and they didn't wish to sully the memory of the day with any negativity.

Both men looked forward towards their officiator again, smiling widely as they paid full attention to the speech about marriage. They found themselves looking past her and towards the oak tree, smiling at it as they remembered their first date beside that very tree. It was why they'd chosen the specific venue to become married.

Before their attention slipped, they looked directly at their officiator. She finished the small speech, looking towards them both. She had caught them glancing and smiling at each other when she spoke, obviously having missed each other. It was nice to see two men so obviously in love

"The grooms have decided that, to signify the union of their individual identities, they will both sacrifice a chosen symbol of who they are before you all," The officiator smiled. "If you'd like to place your sacrifices on the podium."

Both men reached into their suit jackets and removed the flowers from their pockets, placing them on the podium either side of the gemstone. The colours of the petals reflected their respective eye colours, done purposefully to symbolise their individual identity. Their marriage would create a combination of who they were as a couple, which is what would happen with the flower.

The red gemstone began to glow, energy pulsating inside. Both flowers were raised slowly into the air, hovering above everybody and spiralling each other. They began to glow with the same red energy that was inside of gemstone. As the energy began to pulsate around the flowers, they began to disintegrate into small fragments, all of which floated into the gemstone and broke the shell. Once every fragment of the flowers had entered the gemstone, everybody on the platform could see the flowers had reformed again and were spiralling one another.

Steadily, the gemstone rose from the podium and settled in the air, partway between Freed and Laxus' heads. Both men turned towards each other, having rehearsed the day multiple times and knowing what they needed to do.

"I will now bind both of the couple's hands together as they make their vows, to show how they will now act as both two individuals and one team." The officiator smiled.

They both raised their hands, so they were in line with the gemstone, their palms gently pressed against the other's. The officiator pulled out a long, beige streak of silk. She carefully, ceremoniously tied both men's hands together. She then pulled out another piece of silk and tied their other hands together, stepping back into position to the side of both men.

"As per tradition, only the couple's immediate family will be in attendance of the vows," The officiator spoke again. "However, due to certain circumstances, we will be using Bickslow Lerato and Evergreen Raisa as surrogate family."

Bickslow and Evergreens smiled widely with pride. They knew Freed and Laxus wished to have a traditional wedding and that the rule saying only family members should hear the vows was a pretty important part of what the two were planning. When the couple had approached them and asked they acted in place of their biological family, they had been both honoured and ecstatic. It was a testament to how much of a family unit the team had become.

"To allow for this privacy, I will cast a cloud spell to separate us for a short time. Please excuse us."

The officiator's eyes and hands began to glow. Around them, the air began to thicken slightly, condensing into light, fluffy clouds. The clouds swirled and spun around, making a dome of the pulsating air that separated everyone on the platform from the rest of the crowd.

The couple's shoulders relaxed slightly now they were out of the crowd's view, though their hands remained in line with the floating gemstone.

"I assume you both know how this works, don't you?" The officiator smiled, both men nodding. "Okay, I've been told that you wish to make your vows as a pair, rather than to each other. So, if you'd like to take it in turns, you can start when you wish to."

Again, they both nodded. They'd finalized their vows weeks ago and had practiced them, knowing who would say what and in what order. They waited a few moments, knowing that the rest of the day would be a whirlwind and that this might be the last time they had to relax for the day. After a few moments, Freed began to speak.

"Are you ready?" Freed asked, Laxus nodding. "Okay. We vow that we will show each other both love and respect for an eternity."

As Freed spoke, the energy in the gemstone began to pulsate and glow again, reacting to his words. The gemstone was another tradition, being a lacrima that could store images, words and memories inside of it. Not only was it a permanent record for their wedding, it was also a reminder of the promises that they made. It wasn't a tradition often used in Firoe, but when the couple had discovered it they both agreed they wished to use it.

"We vow to be patient, kind and forgiving towards each other," Laxus spoke this time, his voice cracking slightly. "Accepting out individual faults and working to appreciate them. We will do this for an eternity."

When the gemstone stopped pulsating and glowing, Laxus glanced to the side. He saw that Evergreen had pulled out a small handkerchief out of her purse and was dabbing her wet eyes with it. He rolled his eyes and grinned slightly, thinking back to how she promised to herself that she would definitely not cry. When she looked up again and caught his eye, his smirk turned into a smile and he winked at her. She pouted for a moment before smiling back. Laxus looked back to Freed, who was also smiling, having caught Evergreen's sniffling.

"We vow to act as partners in every challenge we face," Freed spoke after a moment. "Though we will respect our individual boundaries and give each other space when we need it. We will do this for an eternity."

Freed looked to his rights to see Makarov beaming proudly at him, his smile widening when he caught Freed's eye. The vow he had just made showed how well suited they were for each other. The older man knew that neither of them would work in a relationship where they were completely co-dependent, it was heart-warming and a large relief that they both knew they'd sometimes need to be alone and respected that.

"We vow to accept one another for who we are, including our faults, and that we will care for each other without the expectation of changing each other. We will do this for an eternity."

Bickslow was blinking quickly as he grinned, not wanting to show that he was just as close to crying than Evergreen; he had no idea how Makarov was coping, he was more emotional than either of them. It was hard not to be emotional, though. The Raijinshuu had been there to watch every aspect of Freed and Laxus' relationship, being the first two to know about the relationship before they were comfortable enough to come out to the guild. Now they were getting married in public, in front of everyone in Fairy Tail and some friends they made when they were in Blue Pegasus.

"And finally," Freed spoke again. "We vow to learn from each other every day of our lives from this point. And from what we learn, we will work to improve and strengthen our relationship. We will do this for an eternity.

After making sure that they were finished with their vows, the officiator smiled, and her eyes began to glow again. The clouds surrounding them began to disperse, slowly revealing the crowd of people who had been waiting for them. The gemstone began to float downwards again, resting in the podium, the glow of magic energy dying down as the clouds fully disappeared.

The officiator walked towards them and carefully untied their hands, allowing them to rest their arms beside their sides. Laxus chuckled slightly when he watched Freed rub his arm, they must have been aching for holding them for that amount of time.

"If we can have the rings, please."

Bickslow pulled a small velvet box out of his tuxedo jacket, walking towards the couple. He opened the box, showing two rings. They were almost identical, both a simple silver band with a thinner streak inside of it. One streak was a midnight black, made of dense and well-polished obsidian, the other was a sparkling yellow, made from a diamond of the same colour. Laxus took the ring with the black streak, Freed the ring with the yellow streak.

When prompted, they walked towards each other. Freed took Laxus' left hand, slowly sliding the ring onto his left hand. After the ring was securely on his finger, Laxus took Freed's hand and slid the black ring down his third finger. They stepped back, smiling at each other widely, glancing down at the other's ring.

"If anyone here has reason to object to the union of Freed Justine and Laxus Dreyar, please speak now or live with your unvoiced complaints." The officiator smiled.

Other than the sound of the wind and the occasional bird flying past, the clifftop was quiet. Both men's eyes flickered towards Bickslow, who had jokingly claimed that he would state his protest, kiss Freed in front of the crowd and they'd run away and live in sin. The couple knew he was joking and would never actually do that, but they both kept an eye on him just in case. He caught their glances and grinned, winking at Freed and making a tiny kissing motion. He held his hands up when he noticed Laxus glare at him, though grinned when he saw the amusement in Laxus' eyes.

"Well, I think that's fairly conclusive," The officiator smiled. "I now pronounce you as a married couple, you may kiss and seal your companionship."

The two were close to each other again in seconds. Freed placed his hand on his husband's hip, Laxus' hand resting on his lower back. Laxus bent his head down, their lips touching in a slow chase kiss. A cheer came from the crowd, almost definitely originating from Natsu.

They pulled apart a few seconds later, looking at each other with as much love a single gaze could carry. They ignored the cheers coming from the crowd, their fingers intertwining as they rested their foreheads together. They leant forward again and pecked each other once more, beaming smiles still not leaving their faces.

They were pulled out of their bubble when the officiator coughed to gather their attention. They pulled apart from each other, looking towards her.

"I believe that your guild has its own tradition when a wizard gets married, correct?"

"Yeah, we do," Laxus smiled. "You might wanna get of the stage all of you, might be a bit dangerous if you don't."

Everybody apart from the newlyweds vacated the wooden platform. In Fairy Tail, it had become tradition that, when a wizard married another wizard, they would create a refined and spectacular union raid for the crowd to see. Not only was it a source of entertainment, it was also a sign that their magics could work well together. The couple had been perfecting their specific union raid for over a month, managing to keep it a secret from the entire guild until now.

Now alone on the platform, the two men faced each other. They both raised a hand to the air and intertwined their fingers. A powerful magic energy began to build up around them, the force of the power creating a wind that caused their jackets to billow and flutter in the wind. Small crackles of lightning began to dance across Laxus' face as Freed's darkness infused eye began to glow and pulsate with energy. The wind billowing around them grew, the crowd slightly bracing themselves as they watched the show of intense magic power.

With a shared glance and a nod, the spell began. From their conjoined hands, a large, thick burst of darkness sprouted and grew high into the air, resembling ink being spread across the sky by a paintbrush. Around the newly formed column of pure darkness, a thick coil of lightning began to spin around, dancing across the magic and flickering slightly.

The wind became more manic as, from the top of the spire, five large spurts of Freed's darkness energy began to spurt out slowly. They all curved outwards, bending down slightly before returning back to where they originated. The crowd began to realise that the spell was creating a rose made from the twos combined magic.

Across the gaps left inside of the petals, lightning flickered from side to side. The sporadic energy filled each petal, the power clearly intense and overwhelming to everyone who could sense it. Cheers began to rise, but the couple weren't done yet.

From the outer edge of the petals, multiple sharp triangles were formed with Freed's darkness magic, lightning filling in the middle in the same way that it had with the inside of the petals. When the triangles had been fully completed, they looked like the teeth of a Venus-Flytrap, only the combination of powerful magics made it much more impressive. Without a moment's hesitation, the petals quickly snapped shut, turning the magic flower back into a large bud and further adding to the Venus-Flytrap persona the magical plant had gained.

After the magic had rested for a moment, the large expanse of magic slowly began to disintegrate. It split apart, turning into hundreds of large bubbles of shadow. That floated across the sky, all of them eventually resting into place above the crowd and over Magnolia.

Now with their hands lowered slightly, though still intertwined, both men finished their union raid. In a manic and sporadic cluster, lightning erupted from inside the bubbles and blew them up, each of them resembling a firework of only darkness and lightning. The sky was lit up with the controlled, beautiful explosions, which could be seen from all around Magnolia. The only sound that rivalled the explosions was that of the crowd cheering for the couple's performance.

Both men panted, the spell having used up almost all their magic energy. Despite this, they both grinned at each other. When they practiced, Freed had needed to use his runes to silence everything to keep it secret. Because of this, his magic levels had been low, and they hadn't been able to perform the full spell in its completed form, so they were both quietly ecstatic that they'd been able to do it without any issues. It had been an incredibly intricate spell to use, as they wished it to be both beautiful and a force to be reckoned with in battle if they needed to use it. It had been a hard balance but, by the sound of their friends and families, their efforts had proved to be worthwhile.

They ignored the cheering, instead stepping towards each other and smiling. Their hands interconnected, heads leaning forward.

"I love you Laxus." Freed whispered, gently resting his forehead onto Laxus' own forehead.

"I love you too, Freed." The thunder made whispered back, pecking his husbands lips softly. "For an eternity."

"For an eternity." Freed mirrored, before they kissed again.


	5. Teasing and Treachery

**This is for tumblr user quebedazarn, who was nice enough to give me quite a lot of requests. I was only able to write one fic, but I tried to put together the two prompts of A Secret Relationship and them Coming Out. Sorry I couldn't do more, but I'm pretty happy with how this turned out. Hope you all enjoy reading it ^.^**

* * *

 **Teasing and Treachery**

"I think, at this point, we might be testing their patience."

"Well, they definitely ain't being subtle anymore."

Freed and Laxus stood beside each other, both carrying a large bag as they looked at the hotel room. The Raijinshuu had decided to take a week's break from the guild and had thought that the spa town of Balsam was the best place to enjoy it. So far it was going well, nobody had stormed their train and the village wasn't in any form of peril. But now, something interesting had happened.

Their hotel room only had one, king sized bed.

They knew who the culprits were. In fact, both men had partially expected something like this to happen when, with no given reason, Bickslow and Evergreen had decided they would take charge of planning their vacation instead of letting Freed do it. For a short while, the two had been giving Freed and Laxus small 'nudges' to get then to start dating, apparently thinking that they would be a good couple but needed help from their team to get a relationship started.

However, their plan would not work for one key reason. Freed and Laxus had been dating for four months. Coincidentally, this was two months longer than Evergreen and Bickslow had been trying to get them together.

The couple hadn't intended to keep their relationship secret from their team for this long. At the beginning, they were both getting used to being in a relationship with each other and didn't need the added issue of other people knowing. This was also Laxus' first time dating a man, and he had wanted to fully understand what this meant before people started asking questions he couldn't answer. When they both were ready to tell their team of their relationship, they began to find themselves in pseudo-romantic situations because of their teammates. After spending some time thinking what they could do, they settled on pretending to be platonic and to torture their teammates while doing so.

There was also a sense of excitement in keeping their relationship secret. Neither could pinpoint why exactly, but this added dynamic just seemed to make every kiss more special and every subtle wink more exhilarating.

"When they find out, we should thank them for this," Freed chuckled. He moved his bag to the end of the bed, looking over his shoulder. "Moving twin beds together and apart without them knowing would probably be annoying."

"Yeah. Would've been a waste of time as well," Laxus grinned. He dropped his bag on the floor and walked behind Freed, wrapping his arms around the other's waist. He then spoke into Freed's neck. "Can think of something much more fun to do in the time we got."

"As nice as that sounds," Freed murmured, gently pushed Laxus off of his neck when he felt small kisses appear. "You know they'll be back in a second to gloat and see our reactions."

With a small pout and reluctant nod, Laxus removed his arms from around his boyfriend's waist after planting a small kiss on his neck. The blonde walked around the double bed and towards the balcony, looking over the view from their room. it showed a large expanse of scenic rooftops that, in the night, would be partially illuminated and would look pretty damn beautiful in the darkness. He had to give Bickslow and Evergreen credit, they hadn't held back with the price of the room. It was definitely a mint on the pillow kind of place.

His eyes drifted downwards to the many public bathhouses, all of which utilised the natural hot springs that made the town famous. With how blunt his teammates were being with the hotel room, he could only guess what they had planned for the rest of the week. He could only hope that it didn't take up too much time, he had enough plans for Freed and the hot springs as it was.

"Y'can hardly blame me for wanting to use the bed properly," Laxus grinned. "I'm dating a pretty hot guy."

"I can't sympathise, I'm afraid," Freed grinned. "I'm dating a man's who's simply a disproportionately large amount of muscle."

Laxus raised an eyebrow, grinning at the teasing. He walked towards Freed slowly and placed his hands on the other man's hips, grinning down at the smug expression on his boyfriend's face.

"Funny, I've never seen ya complainin' about what I do with that muscle. Seems like you like it to me."

As Freed opened his mouth to retort, a loud knocking came from the other side of the door; it was easy to recognise it as Bickslow's. Freed patted Laxus' forearms, where his hands had rested during their short flirtation. The rune mage smiled when he noticed Laxus glaring at the door and the smallest of growling coming from his lips. He removed the blonde's hands from his hips and walked towards the door, looking over his shoulder.

"If I knew insulting you would have this effect, I would have started it sooner," Freed teased again, grinning.

He opened the door, Bickslow and Evergreen standing there. When their eyes settled on the double bed again, the pride was obvious in their faces. They weren't good at hiding it. Quickly, it was replaced with a look of obviously fake surprise, which turned into fake confusion. It was clear they had practiced their reactions, as Bickslow began to laugh whereas Evergreen took the sympathetic route. This was probably how they would have reacted if the situation had occurred without them being behind it.

"You've, erm, you've only got one bed," Evergreen said, fighting a smile.

"No shit," Laxus grumbled, playing along. "You wanna tell us why?"

"Must've misheard me on the phone," Bickslow grinned. "Guess you'll have to share. If you can both fit, Laxy likes to spread out."

"Why would we do that?" Freed questioned. "It's a large enough hotel, I'm sure they have a room that will suit our needs better than this. It's not as if we can't afford to pay if we need to."

"You don't wanna do that!" Bickslow shouted slightly, shaking his hands to accompany his exclamation. "I mean, that's stupid! Right Ever?" The blue haired mage nudged the woman, who sighed slightly.

"It's one of the busiest vacation weeks and this town is known as the place to be." Ever spoke with more confidence than Bickslow. "It's probably all booked up. That might be why you've been put in here. Your actual room might have been doubled booked and they decided to put you in here. It looks like an upgrade to me, it's much nicer than my room."

"Yeah, it's practically a suite." Bickslow added, grinning. "You know what they say about gift horses and looking at their mouths."

"I suppose you're right," Freed nodded slightly. "It is luxurious. And I could probably sleep on the couch, it doesn't look too small."

As Bickslow and Evergreen got into a debate with Freed about how he shouldn't be forced to sleep on an uncomfortable couch while there was a perfectly good bed big enough for the both of them, Laxus found himself grinning at his boyfriend. Perhaps this devious and mischievous side of Freed that he often saw was what made keeping their relationship a secret so exciting. He'd see this side of Freed before, of course, but never so often. It was both amazing and interesting to see how Freed could keep up this façade of ignorance without missing a beat.

Freed finished the debate quickly, telling them both that he and Laxus would sort out their bedding issue on their own and that they needn't worry about it. He also mentioned that they shouldn't feel as if this was their fault as they booked the hotel, which both gave Bickslow and Evergreen an excuse to why they were so bothered while also not allowing them any room for further arguments.

The partners in crime decided that they wouldn't push the argument further, not wanting to risk giving their plan away. There was a chance that the two were going to share a bed and that was more than enough for them. Besides, the double bed was an afterthought to their plan, they had much more for them.

"Well, don't take too long deciding what you're going to do," Evergreen smiled. "I heard this place has a heavenly hot rocks massage and if I'm not catatonic within the hour they'll be hell to pay."

"Y'don't need to wait for us," Laxus re-joined the conversation. "We're big boys, pretty sure we can take a vacation without the two of you breathing down our necks all the damn time."

Evergreen, seeing this as a way to leave the two alone so they could sort out their little bed issue, nodded and took Bickslow by the arm, walking him towards the door. The taller man looked down at her with confusion, he had just thought up the perfect retort about how Laxus' track record with getting lost meant he should always be supervised. When a glare spread across her face for a split second, he understood and grinned.

As the pair walked towards the door, Freed rolled his eyes. His teammates really weren't subtle; he needed to remember that if they ever planned to infiltrate anywhere. When they got to the doorframe, Bickslow looked over his shoulder with a grin.

"Seriously, though. Blondie's like a starfish when he sleeps. Don't let his body bully you off the bed if you're sharing."

"I'm sure I can handle his body," Freed said without wasting a second. "And if not, I can do something between his legs to get my way."

From where he stood, Laxus rolled his eyes. Both Evergreen and Laxus looked at him with slightly deadpan expressions, obviously buying into the ploy that he didn't know how sexually suggestive his sentence had been. It was ridiculous that the pair hadn't realised they were being played yet, Freed was infamous for his knowledge of words and they shouldn't have believed he didn't know what he was saying for a second. He supposed that, like love, manipulative scheming made someone blind to what was in front of them.

"You two go and enjoy yourselves. We can sort ourselves out without any trouble." Freed smiled.

"Definitely when there's the threat of a pissed off Ever if we don't." Laxus quipped, grinning at the glare he was given.

Their teammates left soon, leaving them with parting goodbyes and a request that they all eat dinner together at eight, Laxus and Freed agreeing before Freed closed the door. Now alone, Laxus immediately wrapped his arms around Freed's waist and chuckled into his head, Freed looking over to him with curiosity.

"You're cruel, you know that right?"

"And you enjoy being insulted apparently, we work well together I think," Freed teased. "How was I being cruel?"

"All those innuendos, it'll drive 'em insane," Laxus grinned into Freed's scented hair. "They're probably in their rooms, talking about how hopeless we are or something."

Freed's grin widened as he turned around, placing his hands on the back of his boyfriend's neck to bring him down for a kiss. It was short but loving, ending with the two resting in each other's arm in a moment of peace before eventually splitting apart. Freed went to unpack his bag, Laxus sitting on the bed and spreading out his limbs; their train carriage hadn't been the biggest.

"If they were more observant, they probably would have noticed by now. It's more their fault than ours," Freed chuckled. "And anyway, what they're doing is technically very manipulative and intrusive. This is my form of revenge."

Laxus grinned as he watched his boyfriend unpack. That man definitely knew how to be cruel in his own, oddly kind way.

* * *

Walking down a secluded, scenic pathway, Freed and Laxus were given a front row to the beauty of Balsam village. The pathway was bordered with blooming cherry blossom trees, some of them twisting their way around the stones and boulders from the volcano that had fallen years previous. The cobbled pathway was covered in the pinkish white leaves that had fallen from the trees, the light bouncing off of them whenever it cut through the thin canopy overhead.

The couple were alone. As a team, they'd intended to visit the highest quality hot spring, so they could relax in luxury. Bickslow had rushed ahead of them, claiming he would get them the best spring before someone else took it. Evergreen had rushed back to the hotel, claiming she had forgotten a towel for her hair and that she would catch up with them when she found one. So now, the couple were left alone in the tranquil and beautiful pathway as they walked towards the hot springs.

Both men knew that their team abandoning them was probably part of their scheme to get them together. Yes, it was possible that Bickslow wanted to get the best spring and Evergreen had forgotten an extra towel. But, given their bed plan, it was likely that everything they did over the week would be working to get the two men to date.

"Do you know if they're watching us?" Freed asked.

Laxus inhaled though his nose, eyes narrowing slightly. "Can't tell, trees are pretty scented so it's all messed up. If they are, they were pretty smart to leave us here."

Freed nodded, glancing around to see if he could see either of his teammates or any floating dolls hiding behind a tree. If they were being spied on, it wasn't from a distance where they could be overheard.

The two remained quiet, enjoying the relaxing calmness the walk offered them. If Evergreen and Bickslow had ditched them on purpose, they had chosen a fantastic place to do so. Not only was it beautiful to look at, the lack of any noise was a welcome relief for both men. The pathway was the epitome of a tranquil village walk and was a contrast to the busy streets of Magnolia or the rushed lifestyle that usually accompanied a wizard.

As they walked, Laxus found himself glancing down at his boyfriend. Illuminated by the light slipping through a filter of pink leaves, the regal elegance of the other man seemed to be enhanced. His clean skin was practically shining and Laxus suspected that, although he couldn't see Freed's eyes, they would look stunning in the slightly discoloured light.

Freed was unaware that his partner was looking at him with such adoration. His gaze was slightly downwards, contemplating whether or not he should approach Laxus with something he had been considering. When he looked up to the blonde and saw him immediately look away, blushing, he smiled and made a decision.

"I think we should tell Bickslow and Evergreen that we're dating," He decided that he shouldn't beat around the bush.

Laxus looked down to him, expression neutral. "You do?"

The blonde hadn't expected him to say that. It obviously had been on his mind for a little while, Freed never said something like that without thinking it through somewhat. He had no worries about coming out to his team, but wanted to know what had brought this topic to Freed's mind, so was withholding his opinion for a little while.

"If you're comfortable, I think we should," Freed looked directly at Laxus. "With what they're doing so far today, it wouldn't shock me if they started to explore love potions and truth spells."

At Freed's joke, the two chuckled. Although it definitely wasn't a serious statement, both men could image their teammates being driven to such frustration that they would look into such spells. Neither thought they'd actually use any kind of magic like that, but both would believe their teammates would consider it as a last resort. As their soft chuckling died down, Freed began to speak again.

"And I think that, if we wait too long, they might begin to think we don't trust them. Obviously, we do, but I don't want them thinking otherwise," Freed smiled slightly. "I don't want you to feel like I'm forcing this on you, I'm only suggesting that we do this if you're comfortable."

"No, I agree," Laxus said, smiling at him. "There's only so much of their crap I can take. And, y'know, it'll be nice to be intimate in front of people."

"Intimate?" Freed feigned confusion. "I said I wanted to come out to them, not to put on live rutting performances."

Laxus reached over and shoved Freed on his shoulder, making the rune mage stumble towards the right as he laughed. The man took a few moments to get back in his previous position, smirking slightly when he saw the tiniest hint of a blush on his boyfriend's face. He was glad that the conversation hadn't been as awkward as it could have been. He was even more glad that Laxus was willing to come out to their team and show their relationship without any obvious hesitance.

"When d'you think we should tell 'em?" Laxus asked after a moment of quietness.

"We could tell them now. If we kiss now, we can find out if they were spying on us if we do that as well." Freed teased slightly.

"We could, I guess. But d'you really wanna come out and then go to a place where we'd both be nearly naked. Bix'll probably try and make us have sex to prove it or something."

"He's not that bad." Freed laughed.

"Agree to disagree," Laxus grinned. "But today, definitely."

"At dinner, perhaps," Freed suggested, subconsciously stepping slightly closer to Laxus. "Or maybe slightly before that. For all we know, they might have organised a private, romantic table for us. If that happens, it'd be nice to enjoy it without having to pretend that we're straight and we're just going along with whatever excuse they give us."

"Yeah, it's been a while since we had our last date. It'll be nice to have another."

Now agreed on the terms of their coming out, they looked forward and enjoyed the tranquil atmosphere of the walk. They would soon be at the bathhouse with Bickslow and possibly Evergreen so would enjoy their time together. They were both excited about coming out to their friends, perhaps a little apprehensive but more about the idea of saying it than their teammates reactions.

As they allowed the sound of birds to sooth their ears, they looked at each other. With no words, they decided they would enjoy their last day as 'straight' men.

* * *

"Argh! I could eat a damn horse!"

Bickslow groaned loudly, patting his stomach to emphasise his need for food. The entire team was walking down the hotel corridor and towards the restaurant, all dressed in semi-formal clothing on Evergreen's command. After settling down, their day had been filled with different forms of relaxation. The partners in crime had managed to resist the temptation to do something in the bathhouse; Evergreen had indeed become catatonic because of her hot stone massage; and Freed and Laxus had found themselves at an afternoon tea session that was paid for in the price of their room. They later found out that their room was the backup honeymoon sweet and they had been given practically all the luxuries that came with that.

Despite this, Freed and Laxus hadn't been forced to endure much more of Evergreen's and Bickslow's plan to get them together; or they hadn't noticed it. Perhaps their bedroom plan was their ace and they were putting all hopes on that, perhaps they simply wanted to lull them into a false sense of security. Either way, it had been a nice day.

"Only serving those tiny sandwiches should be illegal!" Bickslow continued. "And why do they all have cucumber, it's just water! Serving them for lunch is like giving someone a cookie and a big-ass cup of water and calling it wedding cake."

"If you were so bothered by the sandwiches, why didn't you go to the barbeque on the outside patio?" Evergreen questioned, Bickslow stopping in his tracks.

"Barbeque? There was a barbeque?" They all nodded, Laxus adding that he had a couple of burgers from it. "Why did nobody tell me?" He whined.

"You looked like you were enjoying yourself with the sandwiches." Freed chuckled.

"Yeah, you ate a crap ton of 'em," Laxus grinned widely. "You barely left any on the plate."

"That's because- wedding cake cookie with water!" Bickslow crossed his arms. "You're all assholes. So now I'm gonna eat like a pig and you're gonna have to deal with it!"

With some laughter, the group continued to walk down the corridor. Bickslow continued to threaten them with how pig-like his eating would be; ending up with an incredibly graphic description with how he would eat with his mouth wide open and how all the food would fly out all over the table. Eventually, it got too much for Evergreen and a squabble broke out between them both. Freed wondered if this was actually a plan and would lead to them abandoning them for a romantic evening. That thought went away when Evergreen brought out the fan, Bickslow would never agree to getting hit by that voluntarily.

Freed and Laxus hung back, letting them continue their half-hearted fight. Silently, they looked towards each other and decided that they would see if the squabble would end before they got to the restaurant. If not, they would have to break it up so they could tell the two their news.

The 'argument' had ended by the time they had reached the restaurant, but neither Freed nor Laxus had started their conversation yet. As the restaurant loomed closer, the sign illuminated by bright lights that contrasted the darkness of the sky, they both looked at each other with seriousness. They knew they had to do it now. Freed, having some experience with coming out, started the conversation for them both.

"Before we eat, could we have a short word with you both?" He started, voice serious.

"Cucumber sandwiches, man!" Bickslow groaned. When he noticed the serious expression on both men's faces, he frowned. "What's up?"

"Well, before I say it I want you to know that the reason we didn't say anything sooner is because we wanted to get everything clear in our own heads before overcomplicating things," Freed kept his voice even. "But I think we're both ready to tell you this, right?"

"Yeah," Laxus nodded, noticing the looks of concern on their teammate's faces. "And, before we do, just know it ain't a big deal. We don't want a party and we don't want any, I don't know, screaming or whatever. This doesn't change anything really, so don't think that it will."

Both Evergreen and Bickslow shared a slightly worried glance. With how vague they were being, many different ideas were swimming through their heads. Some of them were good, like Freed having been given S-Class status without the guild knowing and they'd be allowed to do even high tiered jobs now. Some of them were bad, like the two of them being transferred to another guild for some reason and having to disband their team. But neither spoke, waiting for either Freed or Laxus to finally say whatever it is they wanted to say.

"A couple of months ago, right on the spring festival actually, Laxus and myself started to… expand our relationship." The rune mage looked to Laxus for support.

"We've kinda been dating." Laxus said bluntly, blushing slightly again.

Bickslow and Evergreen both blinked. They looked towards each other, then towards their friend who were apparently dating one another. Their shocked expressions morphed into large, genuine smiles. Ironically, even though they had been slightly manipulating the vacation to get the two together, they hadn't once considered that would be there news.

It was Bickslow who managed to speak first. "You sure we ain't allowed to scream. I wanna scream."

"How the hell did this happen?" Evergreen asked, face a mix of a frown and a smile.

"Well, as I said, it started on the spring festival. When the two of you had retired for the night, we stayed for a little longer. We had a couple of drinks and got a little bit tipsy. Because of that, our inhibitions made us a little bit comfortable with revealing secrets and…" Freed looked up to Laxus, who grinned at him.

"I confessed, I guess that's what you'd call it." Laxus wrapped an arm around Freed's waist. "Freed said he felt the same way. We started kissing and, got a little handsy with each other."

"You did it on the first night!" Bickslow shouted, shoving his hands in front of his mouth when he realised what he said. "Sorry. Your business."

"Don't worry," Freed was blushing slightly, trying not to look at the people who had heard what Bickslow had said. "And no, we didn't. We, erm, got close to doing that but decided that, if anything were to happen, we didn't want it to come from a drunken one-night stand. So, we thought that we'd leave it for the night, meet up again in the morning and see what we thought about the situation with a sober mind."

"And it worked well, I guess," Laxus chuckled. "Otherwise we'd be eating right now. Speakin' of that, can we get in. I'm starving, and I had a couple of burgers. Don't know how the cucumber man can cope."

Bickslow pouted, but his stomach growled loudly at the reminder that he was, indeed, incredibly hungry. The group began to walk towards the restaurant again, Bickslow leading and complaining about his hunger again, bringing back the description of eating that reignited the argument between him and Evergreen.

Freed and Laxus glanced at each other with grins. It was nice that their team seemed both excited for their relationship but also didn't seem to mind all that much. They suspected that their teammates would have some questions and would probably get to teasing them when they were comfortable. But right now, their relationship wasn't the key part of the Raijinshuu, it was their need to have dinner.

"Hi, we booked a table for four with our hotel?" Evergreen said to the hostess of the restaurant. "Under the name Raijinshuu, I think."

"Yes, there you are," The woman smiled. "I've actually got two tables under that name. Apparently two of you are staying in the honeymoon suite, perhaps the person organising the order was confused as we were specifically told to make a romantic table for two. I'm incredibly sorry, if you'd like I can have a look to see if there's any free tables for four. You might have to wait around though."

Freed and Laxus looked to Evergreen and Bickslow, wearing deadpan expressions. Because they'd come out, they also could now reveal that they knew exactly what their teammates had been doing. With Bickslow's reaction, he obviously thought they were oblivious.

"Well we don't want to put you to any trouble," Bickslow grinned. "And since we've got the happy couple here, why not utilise it."

Shaking his head, Laxus walked forward and spoke to the hostess. "We'll take the ones you've done already, thanks." He then looked over to Bickslow and Evergreen. "Shame we couldn't see how you were gonna make excuses that made us go on a date together."

The blonde was following the hostess before either teammate had time to react. With a chuckle, Freed followed his boyfriend, not before looking over his shoulder and speaking to his teammates, who were looking at him with shock. He grinned to them both, deciding that he would confirm what they were obviously thinking.

"Don't try and trick people into a relationship again, you're very bad at it."

He walked away before they could say anything, smiling as he intertwined his fingers with Laxus'.


	6. Romantic Beginnings

**This is for Archive user Firebolt_100, who wanted a fic based on Freed and Laxus' first date. This is a little shorter than the others, but I think it's a pretty cute story and I really hope you all enjoy it. Happy reading ^.^**

* * *

 **Romantic Beginnings**

"If you'd like to follow me to your table."

Freed and Laxus weaved through the mess of tables, following the host who was guiding them. They were in a very traditional looking pub restaurant with unclothed tables, large food portions and an unrefined, happy atmosphere. It was the perfect place for both men, who didn't particularly care for an overly pretentious and expensive environment when they ate. The fact it was out of the way and nobody seemed to recognise them was a welcome bonus, given why they were at the restaurant that night.

After realising that they both held romantic feelings for each other, they decided that they should explore them. It had taken them a couple of weeks sitting on this knowledge until one of them took action, Freed asking Laxus to come on a date with him. Laxus had happily accepted.

"I'll leave you alone for a few minutes, so you can see what you want. When you're ready to order, call me over."

Both men nodded, taking a seat at the table. It was right beside the window, cutlery wrapped up in a red napkin and menus placed between the salt and pepper shakers. As their waitress and host left, Laxus reached over and picked up the drinks menu, looking down the list of drinks cautiously. Freed had picked up the other menu, looking at all the meals in silence.

As Laxus scanned the menu, he found his eyes straying towards Freed. Both men had dressed up for their date, Freed deciding to wear a black turtleneck that gently hugged his figure and a pair of black trousers, tucked into his regular boots. He had been wearing a long, grey coat and scarf, but they had been abandoned at the coat stand at the door. His hair was tied up in a high pony tail, a few strands falling down to frame his angular, handsome face. Laxus smiled slightly, god that man was good looking.

When Freed moved his head, Laxus quickly shot his glance back to the list of cocktails in his hands, cheeks tinged with red. His slightly increased heartbeat calmed when he realised Freed was just moving a loose strand of hair, perhaps self-consciously. He sighed with a smile, placing the menu down.

"D'you wanna have-"

"Would you mind if-"

They had both spoken over one another, stopping to let the other continue. After a few seconds of silence, Laxus spoke up again. "Sorry, I was gonna ask if wanted some scotch? This is the one you like, right?"

Laxus turned the menu around so Freed could see it, pointing to a drink that he recognised as one of Freed's favourites. Freed followed his finger, smiling when he realised that it was his favourite drink and that Laxus had recognised it.

"Lagavulin, yes," Freed smiled, looking up. When Laxus asked if that was what he wanted, Freed nodded, making sure he only got a single so he wouldn't spend too much. "Thank you." He smiled after Laxus nodded.

The blonde took the other food menu from between the salt and pepper shakers, idly looking over the food. Freed, having already chosen his meal, leant back and looked at his date with a smile. It was sweet that Laxus remembered what his drink of choice was, more so with how uncommon it seemed to be wherever they drank. It didn't shock him that Laxus had remembered, the blonde made an effort to remember those kinds of things about the people he cared about.

As he thought, the rune mage found himself glancing over his blonde friend. He was wearing a crisp white shirt, a black jacket, some black jeans and boots. He had definitely made an effort and it definitely worked for him.

"You okay?" Upon hearing Laxus' question, Freed blinked and snapped out of his thoughts.

"I'm fine, sorry," Freed smiled and shook his head. "Just a little preoccupied."

"Sure."

Laxus nodded and began look over the food, Freed gently tapping his fingers on the wooden table as he looked around the room. It was filled with families and couples, none of which they recognised. They had decided that they would take their date at the outskirts of Magnolia, the quietness of this area allowing them more privacy than they would get anywhere near the guild. There was also a significantly lower chance of anyone from Fairy Tail asking what they were doing, something both men were worried about.

When he looked back to Laxus, he saw the menu placed on the table and the blonde looking out of the window. It wasn't out of rudeness, he was looking out the window for exactly the same reason Freed had been looking around the room. Neither knew how to act on a date with the other. At this realisation, Freed began to laugh.

"For goodness sake," He chuckled, Laxus looking to him with a raised eyebrow. "We've eaten alone hundreds of times and it's never been this awkward. Are we being ridiculous?"

"Little bit," Laxus grinned. "I can't think of anything to say. Worried I'm gonna make an ass outta myself, y'know."

Freed laughed at that. "I've seen that happen with you many times, Laxus, and I'm fairly sure you've seen me do exactly the same thing. There's probably been a time when the both of us have made asses out of ourselves at the same time."

"Like that time a rich old guy threw juice at us all and we had to ride home on the train with a massive stain on our pants," Laxus grinned when Freed's face fell into a fake scowl. "Oh wait, that was only you, wasn't it? I just laughed, didn't I?"

"No, you didn't only laugh. You also agreed never to speak of it again," Freed's scowl contorted into a smile. "Just like I agreed that I'd never mention you 'accidentally' shaved your head and begged be for a hair replenishment spell. That was the first time I saw a self-appointed 'teenage badass' cry about his looks that much."

The conversation quickly diverted from the awkwardness of the date to the embarrassing situations that they both found themselves in. The atmosphere of the table became light and welcoming, fitting with the rest of the room. Once their own embarrassment became dried out, they began to share storied about their teammates and guildmates, reminiscing about their younger years, their shared rivalry with Mirajane and the issues that came with it.

The conversation was paused slightly when the waitress returned the table and asked for their orders. Freed ordered a chicken salad, Laxus ordered a bacon cheeseburger with extra fries; it came with fries anyway, but he knew that Freed would want some even if he claimed he wanted to keep to his stupid diet. Laxus also ordered Freed a double of his scotch, knowing he enjoyed the drink far too much to just have a single serving. Freed, in retort, ordered Laxus a double serving of his favourite, expensive drink.

When the waitress left, they both grinned at each other. The competition to force the other to drink something more expensive was clearly flirtatious and not to be taken seriously. After grinning, their conversation picked up again.

"You weren't there for what happened with blondie and Gajeel, were ya?" Laxus asked, chuckling to himself.

"I don't think so," Freed smiled, leaning back to listen to the story Laxus was obviously going to tell.

"Right, you all went on a mission that week, left me all alone," Laxus pouted playfully, Freed rolling his eyes. "So apparently blondie and the metal head both fell asleep at the guild for some reason, I think they went on a mission together and it exhausted 'em or something. So they were sleeping at the table and Natsu barged into the guild and he must have been pissed 'cause he didn't get to go on the mission with 'em. So the idiot thought he'd get revenge, so braided their hair together."

Freed, who had been taking a drink of water at that time, spluttered into the drink as he laughed. The image of them waking up and realising their fate was too funny an image not to laugh at. He could picture them trying to walk in different directions and the fallout that ensue.

"I can imagine that quite clearly. Although I feel sorry for them, it can't have been easy to untangle that mess," Freed chuckled, running his hands through his hair slightly consciously. "Lucy could have used her spirit to help her, I suppose. That is the blonde you're referring to, right?"

"Who else is blonde and in Fairy Tail, other than me?" Laxus teased slightly.

Freed thought for a moment, thinking through the members of Fairy Tail that he knew. Other than Laxus and Lucy, he couldn't pinpoint anyone with blonde hair. Max could be blonde if you stretched the definition, but he couldn't see a situation where he and Gajeel would be on a mission and Natsu would get jealous about it. "I suppose you're right. That means there's the same amount of people with green hair as there is with blonde."

"Your people are rising Freed. You better spare me when you're ruling the world," Laxus teased.

"I can't control it, I'm afraid," Freed smirked. "It's a parasite, gives you an unquenchable hunger for human brains but keeps you looking good."

"I agree with the looking good part, but I can't see you eating a brain," Laxus grinned widely. "Way too much fat in that for Freed 'chicken salad morning noon and night' Justine."

"If you don't think I can eat anything but chicken salad, I suppose I'll have to take your meal and make you watch me eat it." Freed's tone became teasing and flirtatious. Laxus leant forward, allowing Freed to continue. "But I suspect that your muscles will deflate if they don't get their daily intake of meat, wont they."

"You only mocking them because you like 'em." Laxus flexed, playfully.

When the waitress placed their drinks on the table, Laxus was mid flex. The blonde went red when he saw the tiny, amused smile on the young woman's face. Freed had to bite his knuckle to hide his laughter when he watched Laxus lower his arm and quietly thank the waitress for bringing their drinks. When the waitress promised to bring their meals as soon as she could and left the table, Laxus buried his face hi his hands and Freed laughed.

"You remember when we were talking about embarrassing moments we don't normally talk about, it was around five minutes ago," Freed's voice was incredibly playful and teasing. "Well, I think you just made something that can be added to the list."

"Shut up," Laxus groaned into his hands, the words slightly muffled. Freed wasn't put off.

"I'm only mocking you because I like you."

"Shut up!"

* * *

The streets of magnolia were quiet, shrouded in the evening darkness. Freed and Laxus were walking side by side, occasionally walking past people but on their own most of the time. The conversation was gentle, having left the pub after a large meal that left them in an almost cathartic state. Neither had expected just how large the portion sizes would be and had been taken by surprise; Freed was positive the salad he ordered contained a whole chicken.

Both men had calmed down from their date, Laxus now having forgotten his embarrassment about his flexing incident. The rest of the date had gone without issue. The conversation contained some teasing, flirting and copious amounts of delightful nothingness that neither would remember in a few days but they both enjoyed at the time.

Not wanting to end the date, they'd decided to walk home together for as long as they could. Their house were relatively far away and eventually they would have to split up. Laxus had suggested that he walk Freed to his door, but retracted that offer when Freed admitted Evergreen and Bickslow had found out he was on a date and wanted to see who it was with. As both men didn't want to come out to their team yet, they both agreed Laxus walking Freed to his door should be avoided. Freed would have offered to walk with Laxus, but the blonde's house was out of the town and going there and back would have added an hour to his walk home.

"So tonight was good, yeah," Laxus asked from nowhere, looking directly ahead instead of at Freed. "You enjoyed it, right?"

"Very much," Freed chuckled, stepping closer to Laxus. He brushed up against the blonde's side, a small but comforting gesture. "And did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah. Yeah I did," Laxus grinned, looking down with a twinge of red on his face. "So, er, again right? I mean, you wanna do it? Date! Not _it_. A date."

"I'd love to go on another date with you, Laxus." Freed smiled.

Laxus nodded with a smile, looking forward. Freed chuckled at the proud expression on the blondes face, deciding he wouldn't tease the other man and just let him feel happy for himself. They two walked in a comfortable, relaxed silence for a few more minutes, occasionally brushing against each other as Freed hadn't moved from his close proximity. Neither minded the gentle touching that came from time to time.

When their knuckles brushed up against each other, they both glanced at each other and smiled. The street lamps lighting up their faces seemed enhance their beauty and both men could see a slight redness in the other's cheek.

"You, er, don't mind if I hold your, y'know," Laxus stumbled. Freed smiled and purposefully grazed his hand against the other man's knuckles. It was a silent way of telling him that he didn't mind and that Laxus didn't have to speak if he didn't want to. Freed knew that, if their relationship lasted, Laxus wouldn't want to look back on their date and remember a lot of embarrassment.

Now hand in hand, they continued to walk in the brisk spring air. They were standing close to each other, partly out of intimacy and partly because it hid their intertwined hands. They were both happy with their current position and had no intention to complain.

Eventually, however, they reached the road that lead to Freed's house. They stopped, knowing this was where they would be parting for the night. If they went any further, Laxus would have to double back on himself and, knowing their teammates, neither men would be surprised if a doll had been hidden and they would be caught. They turned to each other, smiling and red in the face.

"So," Freed said. "I suppose I'll see you in the guild tomorrow then. Perhaps, depending on how quiet the guild is, we could discuss our next date?"

"Yeah, that'd be good," Laxus smiled. "Erm, just one thing before you go."

Freed's eyes widened slightly when Laxus placed a hand on his lower back and pressed their lips together. The kiss only lasted a few seconds and their lips didn't move, but both men were glowing brightly when they pulled apart. Laxus retracted his hand from Freed's back and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Sorry, didn't know when I'd be able to do it if I didn't do it then?" Laxus grinned nervously.

"You don't need to apologise," Freed smiled. "It was nice."

"Yeah, it was," Laxus agreed. "See you tomorrow, right."

"Yes," Freed smiled. "See you tomorrow."


	7. By His Bedside

**This is for archive user SnowfallBreeze, who wanted some Fraxus angst with Laxus fearing for Freed's life. I don't often write angst, but I think this turned out well. There is mentions of blood and medical comas, so be warned about that if you want to avoid it. Either way, enjoy the angst and happy reading ^.^**

* * *

 **By His Bedside**

Crackling sporadically, two streams of lightning shot out of Laxus' fists with an inexplicable amount of speed. They barrelled towards a masked figure, slamming into his stomach and pinning him to a thick tree trunk. The lightning mage kept up his powerful spell, forcing as much pressure into the trapped mage as he could. The masked mage didn't seem to be affected, hanging limply against the tree until, with a puff of smoke, he disappeared into nothingness.

"They ain't going down."

Laxus and Freed were surrounded by many of the masked figures, all completely identical in appearance, mannerisms and power. The couple had been fighting the figures for a short while now and, whenever they managed to defeat one, it dispersed into smoke and reformed again, not showing any signs of being hurt.

They had been called to a remote village on a mission. Apparently, they were being held hostage by a powerful mage and needed to get rid of him before their low food supplies were worn out. The couple had expected the mission to be easy, it wasn't even considered A-Class, yet alone S-Class. The people of the village apparently didn't know what kind magician their tormentor was, as his specific type of magic made it near impossible for two mages to defeat alone. He could clone himself a seemingly infinite amount of times, each clone being just as powerful as the original.

"Getting' anywhere with the spell?" Laxus yelled, grunting when he was hit by solid darkness spell.

"Nearly," Freed gritted his teeth, blocking an attack with his sword as runic lettering floated around him and began to lay down on the ground.

Freed had come up with an idea that might work. This mage was obviously very powerful, but also reliant on his magic. He had guessed that, if their foe lost the ability to cast spells, not only would the clones be dispersed but he also would be defenceless. Freed could create a spell that would trap the men inside of it and also remove any magical energy, meaning the masked mage would have to rely on his physical strength. The only issue with this plan was the complexity of the rune was high and, with the endless attacks from the clones, Freed was finding it hard to complete the spell.

Laxus nodded and grunted, lightning spewing out of his mouth as he turned his head. The power of his electrified roar managed to dispel enough of the clones for the thunder mage to return to Freed's side. With the number of clones around them, there was no point in trying to fight them off. They had no idea who the real one was but wouldn't know until the others had been dealt with. So Laxus would protect Freed and let him complete the rune without distraction.

As three of the masked clones advanced on them, lightning crackled around Laxus' fist. He punched the first one, releasing the lighting into a concentrated beam on contact that tore through the clone's head and slammed into the other two. All three clones dispersed into dark smoke and re-emerged further back in the dense forest.

"How long?" Laxus grunted when a column of magic slammed into his shoulder.

"One minute to lay. Three to activate." Freed said, eyes narrowed. "I can fight during activation."

"Got it." Laxus nodded.

The thunder mage forced another torrent of lightning towards the crowd of clones. The spell slammed against a darkness shield, creating a mix of the two energies that exploded and took down a large number of the clones, which of course returned a moment later. Laxus noted that the combination of magics made an explosion, which could be useful.

Trusting his fiancé's protection, Freed allowed his eyes to close so he could fully focus on the spell. Their foe was powerful, so Freed had to make extra effort in blocking his type of magic; which he had guessed was Darkness-Make magic.

Runic figures floated from around Freed, flying past the clones Laxus continued to defeat. The lettering fell to the ground, creating a large circle of magic that, it seemed, the clones had no interest in. With a large burst of magic energy, the lettering began to glow with power. Walls of magic shot up, all of which containing the rules that Freed had created his enchantment. They flew up high, trapping all the clones, the original masked mage and the couple inside of them. It wouldn't be long before the walls were filled with magic, which would add the magic-depleting affect to all the mages inside the perimeter.

All the clones looked at the runes, obviously understanding the intention. Freed and Laxus smirked, the runes were going to work no matter what now, all they needed to do was wait for all the clones to disperse for the final time.

"Not as easy as you thought, huh bastard," Laxus yelled to the crowd of masked figures. "Wanna give up now, 'cause you ain't gonna beat the two of us with a spindly body like that."

The clones seemed to be enraged at the taunting. They all seemed to flicker lightly, before simultaneously disappearing into one cloud of smoke. The smoke remained in the air, before flying upwards and slamming into the wall of the rune. The bundle of black smoke did this multiple times, not able to leave the confides of Freed's spell. It returned to the ground, turning into one masked man who was glaring at them both.

"You wanna give up, you have to say it," Laxus gloated slightly.

"Be careful, sustaining all those clones would have taken a toll on his magic," Freed said quietly, removing his sword from the scabbard. "Without worrying about them, he'll likely be considerably more powerful."

With a nod, Laxus began to let lighting crackle over his skin again. It apparently wasn't enough, though. A large spurt of black energy emerged from the masked man's hands and spun around Laxus' waist, a band of energy tightening around him like a leash on a dog. The masked man moved his hands quickly, the solid magic following suit and flinging Laxus to the side, slamming him against the wall of the runes.

Before Freed could help his fiancé, the masked man cast another spell. This one sent a splurge of black magic towards Laxus, covering his torso in a sticky, oil-like substance that pinned him to the enchantment wall. Laxus struggled, but the magic wouldn't budge.

Freed swiped his sword in the air, casting the spell for pain on the masked man, who blocked it with the same kind of shield that one of his clones had used. Freed cast another pain spell, this time making sure to put a higher level of magical concentration, hoping that it would burn through the shield and temporarily stop the mage, so he could assist Laxus. The spell was blocked in the same way that his previous one had.

Trusting his fiancé, Laxus paid full attention to escaping the sticky magic that trapped him to the wall. He suspected that, as the masked man's magic could block Freed's spell, it had some sort of absorbent quality. Laxus hoped that, if he put enough of his magic into the darkness, he would overpower it and begin to break away.

Just before he began his attack on the magic that trapped him, the sound of spluttering caught his attention. He looked up, stomach twisting and heart practically stopping.

Freed had been lifted off his feet, a blade like stream of magic entering through his stomach and leaving his back. The man's body was limp, a small splutter of blood leaving his lips. When the magic retracted, Freed was dropped to the ground. Blood began to stain the grass and the back of Freed's coat.

All magic was suddenly dispelled and, at the sight of his unconscious and bleeding fiancé, the red mist descended over Laxus and he lunged towards the mass man. Mercy was the last thing on his mind.

* * *

"I'll leave you two alone, you know not to excite him or move him."

At the nurse's words, Laxus nodded. He walked around the hospital bed that Freed was lying in, looking down at him with sadness in his eyes. He walked to the bedside vase, picked out the slightly wilted flowers and replaced them with the small bunch that he had brought. Now content with that issue, he took a seat beside the bed and carefully took Freed's hand. A sigh escaped the blonde's lips as he sat beside the unconscious figure.

It had been three days since the couple fought against the masked man. Three days since Freed was stabbed through his stomach and Laxus had teleported him to Magnolia Hospital. Three days since Laxus had beaten the masked man to a pulp, not caring about if the bastard survived or not.

After teleporting them both to the hospital and leaving the masked man to the rune army, Laxus had been told Freed needed to undergo immediate surgery. A collection of doctors, nurses and healing wizards had taken the rune mage into an operating room immediately, leaving the blonde alone with his worries. He had been panicking, angry and annoyed at himself for letting it happen, having to leave the hospital to vent his anger against the wall on a nearby tavern.

When he returned, he was forced to sit in a waiting area until one of the nurses returned. She told him that Freed was out of surgery, stable and with the proper care, he would recover soon and be able to return to his work within time. However, to make sure the surgery they had performed was settled correctly, Freed had been placed into a medical coma. Worse still, Laxus wasn't told how long he'd be under the coma because the doctors who only know when it was safe to un-comatose him the moment it happened. It had been hard to accept, and the tavern wall had taken another beating, but Laxus knew his anger wasn't going to help. Being there for Freed would.

The dragon slayer had been at the hospital every day. A few members of Fairy Tail had come and gone, The Raijnishuu mostly, but Laxus only left when he was forced to by the doctors. On the first day, he'd considered fighting them and demanding to stay all hours, but he wouldn't win and they all knew what they were doing.

"Doctor's said you're recovering at a good rate," Laxus grumbled slightly. "And all the operation stuff's settling nicely. So that's good."

The room was silent. Freed had been put into a small, private ward. The doctors claimed that he shouldn't have too much stimulation when he woke up, so the less people the better. Laxus also knew from experience that Fairy Tail mages could often crowd up public wards while they visited a team member, unintentionally of course, so he suspected that contributed to Freed's privacy. Laxus wasn't going to complain, the lack of an audience suited him fine.

Gently stroking his fiancé's hand, a loud sigh left the blondes lips. He looked up to the other man's face, studying the closed eyes and near blank expression. Gently grasping the other man's wrist, he could both feel and hear the gentle beating of his heart. It warmed him to hear the regular thumping.

"Apparently the nurses gave you a bath today," Laxus said again, willing to fill the space. "Don't know if I should laugh because you'd be embarrassed by a load of people scrubbing you down or jealous because a load of people who weren't me were touching your dick." Although it was a joke, Laxus couldn't bring himself to add humour to his voice.

Every moment he was thinking about how he could have avoided this. How he shouldn't have gotten cocky and let his guard down. How he shouldn't have waited around and should have broken out of the spell the masked man put him in without wasting a second. How he should have been the one taking the attack, not Freed. He didn't voice these thoughts, knowing his fiancé would berate him for beinig stupid.

'Maybe I should tell him. He'll wake up just so he can scold me.'

He shook his head and rested it onto the side of Freed's bed. He hadn't slept well again, Freed being at the forefront of his mind. He had tried to get in a couple of hours but struggled, so went for a late-night walk which ended up lasting to the early morning. He scraped in an hour sleep before waking up and going to the hospital at the start of visiting hours. Freed would probably chastise him for his sleep schedule as well.

With a tiny yawn, he positioned himself so that he could see Freed's face as he laid there. He wanted to make sure he knew if there was any change in Freed's posture, either good or bad. He trusted the doctors when they said, as long as his coma lasted the appropriate time, he would be fine, but he couldn't stop himself from worrying.

"Why did I take that fucking mission," He whispered. "Ya said we shouldn't do a B-Class and now this shit's happened and it wouldn't have if I listened to you."

He cut himself off again, knowing self-loathing wasn't going to help nor please anyone; although it was incredibly tempting to continue with it. All he could do for Freed was stay by his side and be there when he woke up. And perhaps ward off any nurses who had fallen for Freed after getting up close and personal when they washed him. A slight chuckle slipped through his lips as he imagined a hoard of Freed loving zombies battering down the door and Laxus being forced into protecting his fiancé.

Another yawn filled the silence of the room when Laxus gently grabbed Freed's hand again and placed it beside his head. He could faintly hear the man's heartbeat, a sound that was much more soothing and relaxing than the silence of Laxus' bedroom. The blonde had gotten used to the sound of his fiancé's heartbeat, it seemed, as he couldn't sleep without it.

He stayed in his position, his stomach twisted in nervousness whenever a negative thought passed his mind. When that happened, he focused on the gentle thumping he could hear and the reassurance that came with it.

Soothed by the assurance of his fiancé's health, the blonde let his eyes close and breathing soften. Still with his finance's hand in his own, Laxus shuffled the chair forward so the slight tinge of apple invaded his senses. He had never realised how comfortable the scent of the man's shampoo made him, nor did he realise how glad he was that Freed insisted on wearing such strong product, as without it he would only smell the unflattering smell of dried blood, slightly dead flowers and general hospital-ness.

"You better be awake when I get up," He grumbled again, frowning at the scratchy sheets his face rested on. Freed should have nice sheets, he thought to himself. "Or don't. Just make sure you get better as soon as possible. For me."

Gently lifting his head, he moved Freed's hand close enough to kiss it. Then, concluding that his fiancé's soft hand was much better than the sheets, he carefully tucked his head into the man's palm and smiled slightly. He closed his eyes again, wordlessly hoping he would wake up to that hand playing with his hair softly. He doubted his hope would come to fruition, but he would be there on the small chance that it did.

With this in mind, Laxus allowed himself to relax. Small snores left his lips a moment later.

* * *

"Morning, Laxus."

The blonde nodded to the nurse who greeted him, walking briskly through the hospital to the ward he had been frequenting. It bothered him that the nurse knew him by name, but didn't shock him. He had been visiting Freed every day for over three weeks, so most of the nurses and doctors in this area of the hospital knew who he was.

As usual, the blonde held a small bouquet of flowers in his left hand. He had been replacing the flowers in the small vase every day, wanting Freed to have the best possible reception when he woke up. He knew that, realistically, it was pointless to do this and Freed wouldn't notice the flowers, but the blonde felt like he needed to have some kind of control over the situation, even if it was the quality of decor in the ward.

Laxus nodded to a few more people who he had come to recognise, all of which had people to visit. Some were worse than Freed's condition, some were better. But that didn't matter, someone they cared about was in hospital and that put them all on an even footing.

When he re-entered the ward, it was the same sight that greeted him every day. Freed had his eyes closed and was propped against a small pile of pillows, his torso covered by freshly applied bandages. The curtains were open and gave a view of the city, the dragon slayer's sharp hearing could pick up a bird twittering on a nearby tree. The vase contained yesterday's flowers, which were still alive and gave a slight natural smell to the room.

Laxus sighed, he always hoped he'd see some change when he first entered the ward.

Head hanging low, he walked towards the bedside table and picked up the vase. He pulled out some of the yellow flowers, knowing they'd be wilted by the end of the day, but kept the purple ones in. He liked the purple ones. He stocked the vase up with some of the new flowers, wrapping up the yellow ones in the plastic sheet so he could dispose of them when he was forced to get lunch by one of the nurses. There was a good few hours until then, so he set the plastic on the floor and leant back in the chair.

Freed was still. Looking at his face, it hurt. Laxus had gone through the self-loathing phase, he'd gone through the phase where he begged Freed to wake up, he'd gone through the phase where he wished he could beat up the masked man again. He was resigned to feeling hurt. Hurt that his fiancé was in such a situation. Hurt that there was nothing he could do.

The spring festival was coming up soon. Their relationship had started on the spring festival and they had always celebrated it together. It had become their favourite holiday because of this. Laxus doubted Freed would be celebrating it this year. Laxus would do anything he could to change this, being prepared to decorate the ward in the traditional way on the off chance that Freed woke up during the holiday. But, most likely, Freed would miss it entirely.

Rubbing his face, something inside of Laxus broke. Tears pricked at his eyes, a sob forming in his throat as he grabbed Freed's hand again.

"I just want you to get better," His voice quivered loudly as he looked pleadingly at Freed's face. "Because coming in here, seeing you like this every day, its killing me. I want to hear your voice, dammit. I want to see your eyes and watch 'em flicker across the pages when you read and pretend you don't see me watching you. I wanna walk into your office and find out there's some weird ass rune you made up randomly because you found it in some damn book and wanna master it because it might come in handy one day. And I wanna hear you come up with some stupid scenario that'll never actually happen when you try and justify learning that spell."

His voice was strained as he looked down to Freed's hand again. Tears were flowing freely, every emotion that he had suppressed over the last three weeks boiling to the surface. He took a shaky breath before speaking again.

"But I'm gonna keep coming here. Gonna come every damn day until I see you're better. 'cause I love you Freed, I love you so damn much. And I'm gonna keep saying that every day. And if you don't wake up soon, you're gonna owe me a lot of 'I love you too' and I know you don't like owing me things, so wake the hell up," Laxus chuckled, humourlessly. "Guess you ain't dumb enough to fall for that, even in a coma huh?"

Another sigh filled the room as Laxus stroked Freed's soft hand again. The rune mage's hand was one of the few things he knew he could touch without causing any risk to his recovery. Freed's hands were soft and well kept, his nails were slightly longer than normal but still in pristine condition. He wondered how the rune mage managed that; some guys had all the luck in the looks department.

"Nah, you ain't dumb. Its why you're still sleeping, right," Laxus had taken to calling Freed's coma sleeping. It made it seem less permanent. "So you don't fuck up you're recovery. The right thing to do, really. Just, do it quickly okay."

The blonde's head fell slightly as the tears pattered into the sheets. He sobbed again.

"Because I really fucking miss you Freed!"

He rested his forehead on Freed's hand, quietly sobbing into it. He knew it was unusual that it was happening now, that he should have gotten out his emotions earlier. But at the start, he was clinging to the idea this coma was only going to be there for a short time. But the longer that Freed slept, the harder it became to remain hopeful. And today, it seemed to be the day where Laxus would break.

Coincidentally, it was also the day that Freed broke through the coma.

Laxus was too involved in his sobbing to realise Freed's hand move slightly to cup his cheek. He sniffled slightly, subconsciously realising the movement but not paying attention to it. His face contorted to a frown when Freed's hand slowly slid upwards, nestling in the short blonde hair and gently tugging at it.

"I hate it when you cry," Freed spoke, his voice incredibly hoarse and scratchy. Laxus' eyes shot upwards, looking towards his fiancé. "Especially when you don't need to."

The blonde looked up at his fiancé with wide, unblinking eyes. His breath was caught in his throat, stomach churning as he assessed the other man. Freed's eyes were still closed, but he was looking in Laxus' general direction and playing with his hair. He had definitely spoken, and he was definitely awake. He was awake! He had spoken, and he was awake!

"You're- You're." Laxus couldn't think of what to say, his eyes were wide in shock. "How long have you been awake?"

"I first woke up last night, I thought a nurse would have told you," His words turned into coughing, Laxus nervous at the sound. "Can you pass me some water. There's a glass beside you."

Laxus immediately reached for the half drunken glass of water which he hadn't noticed until then. He passed it to Freed, who gulped it down quickly before handing it back to Laxus, who took it from his hands carefully. The rune mage still had his eyes closed. Laxus was too busy wondering why one of the nurses hadn't told him Freed was awake to notice this.

"Sorry, my throats incredibly dry," Freed rasped. "But yes, I woke up last night. They gave me something to drink and told me I should rest. Ironically, it didn't count as sleep. This is also why I haven't opened my eyes yet, the brightness of the room might affect them so I need to keep them closed for a while."

"B-but youre okay, right?"

"I'm in pain, but not agony. I can't ask for much more," Freed smiled weakly. "Speaking of not being able to ask for much more, I should thank you for coming here every day. You really didn't need to do that."

"Was the right thing to do," Laxus sniffled slightly. "How'd you know? The nurse told you or something?"

"He did, but I knew anyway. People in comas really can hear what's going on around them," Freed coughed again. "I'm sorry I made you so sad. I'll try not to do it again."

"You better."

Laxus was grabbing Freed's hand as if the rune mage would be taken away from him if he let go even slightly. Despite his face being stained with tears and flushed red, he was beaming from ear to ear. Even in the raspy and croaky form it was now, hearing his fiancé speak was the sweetest melody he had ever heard.

"I'm glad to be with you again, Laxus," Freed whispered slightly.

"Glad to have you back, Freed," Laxus smiled back. "Really fucking glad."


End file.
